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Communicating the Value of Your Internship

June 7, 2017 | 9:00am

Summer is exciting because it means some time off of classes and a break from studying, but it’s also a great opportunity to gain experience during an internship since your schedule is more flexible while you’re on break. But how exactly will your internship experience fit on your resume? Break it down into the job skills you gained as you built on your education and began preparing for the job market.

While a job search may seem far off, experts agree that the best time to update your resume is while you are doing the job. Take a few minutes over the summer to update your resume with your internships while the details are fresh on your mind.

What to Add to Your Resume

Really, you can include your internship under almost any section. If you are lacking in job experience, it can go in that section to help build it up. It can also go in the volunteer section, education section or the “relevant work experience” section. How do you decide where to add your internship? Focus on making sure that your resume tells the story that those who are hiring for your ideal job need to hear to know you’re a good fit for the position.

How to Communicate Your Internship’s Value

First of all, keep it short! No one wants to read pages and pages of a resume. In fact, most won’t read more than two pages. A few key notes about your internship experience should be enough to get the story across.

Many people spend too much time and effort too early on stressing about the format or template for their resume. During your summer internship, don’t worry about all of that — just jot down a paragraph about your experience and what you’re learning. When it comes time to perfect your resume to submit for that dream job, you can easily tweak the information or add bullet points as necessary.

Whatever you do, make sure you don’t simply state your job description on your resume. Take the time to describe your skills, not just the actions you performed, as employers want to know how you did your job, not just that you could do it. They want to hire people who are going to solve problems and save them money. Prove that you can do that with your previous experiences.

Building the perfect resume can be a daunting task, but it’s worth it. When working on climbing the career ladder, a solidly written resume can push you farther along.